By: Liz Rizzo | Follow me on Twitter @ pastagrl88
As more and more Bruins players are placed on the Covid-19 protocol, tonight’s match-up was expected to be a tough one. Coupled with playing without many of their top superstars, the lack of depth is becoming increasingly obvious for the Bruins. As breakthrough Covid cases increase throughout the league, it begs the question of whether or not it would be smart for the Bruins to travel up North.
GAME RECAP
A physical first period for both teams saw the Bruins draw the first power play of the night as the Islanders’ Kyle Palmieri was called for slashing against Derek Forbert. There were some good rushes towards New York’s net however no score during the man-advantage.
Despite some back and forth battles on the ice, Cal Clutterbuck would wrist a loose puck past Linus Ullmark, giving the Islanders an early lead. Seconds later the Islanders got on the power play as Erik Haula was called for hi-sticking against Andy Greene. Luckily, the Bruins were able to kill off the penalty.
There were a couple of missed scoring chances for both teams that forced both goaltenders to make some timely saves. A better start to the game for the Bruins compared to their last match-up
SCORE END OF THE FIRST: BOS-0, NYI-1
SHOTS ON GOAL: BOS-9, NYI-10
Boston would be short-handed right at the start of the period as Derek Forbert was called for hi-sticking against Cal Clutterbuck. Anthony Beauvillier would notch a screened power-play goal making the score 2-0. Karson Kuhlman picked up the speed as he rushed towards the net in an attempt to get the B’s onboard, however was unable to complete the play.
Big saves from each goaltender kept this game low scoring throughout the second period. The B’s certainly picked up the pace as they kept gameplay down in the Islanders’ end. After a hit to David Pastrnak, gloves came off as NIck Folgino chucked some knucks against Matt Martin. Unfortunately, the scuffle would give the Islanders another power-play.
The Isles wasted no time in taking advantage of a depleted Bruins team as they swarmed around Boston’s end forcing Ullmark to bounce around in the net. A near-miss chance by Pastrnak was quickly shut down by Semyon Varlamov. Lots of pressure up and down the ice during a somewhat evenly paced period.
A couple of odd-man rushes by the Bruins gave the team a couple of scoring chances. The period would close out with B’s playing from behind as they’ve been unable to capitalize on any shot attempts.
SCORE END OF SECOND PERIOD: BOS-0, NYI-2
SHOTS ON GOAL: BOS-29, NYI-22
The Islanders did not let up on their effort as the puck was thisclose to getting past Ullmark. Former Bruins Captain Zdeno Chara was sent to the penalty box for tripping against Taylor Hall. Unfortunately, their power play was short-lived as Charlie McAvoy was called for cross-checking against Andy Greene.
Boston had a couple of great chances but came up short as they continued to rack up penalties. The Isles once again were on the power play as Matt Grzelcyk was called for interference against J.G. Pageau. No score as Ullmark blocked their attempt to widen the lead.
No puck luck for the Bruins as Varlamov got his pad down on a potential goal. With an empty net, the Islanders scored, making it 3-0. Moments later Boston’s Mike Reilly would finally get the B’s on the board as he scored the lone goal of the night making the final score 3-1.
FINAL SCORE: BOS-1, NYI-3
TOTAL SHOTS ON GOAL: BOS-41, NYI-28
NEXT GAME: Saturday, December 18th versus Montreal Canadiens with puck drop after 7:00 PM
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